"Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it."

- Confucius, Ancient Chinese philosopher

Yoga Gives Back, an organization founded to support impoverished women and children in India

By Sharda ten Hove on 28 August 2012

Yoga gives back is a non profit grass roots organization founded in 2007 by Kayoko Mitsumatsu.
Inspired by the micro credit model of Nobel Prize winner Dr. Muhammad Yunus (lending small loans to women in particular, who have no access to capital), the organization supports women and children through education and micro loans.

Kayoko, who is a regular yoga practitioner, realized that for the cost of one yoga class, one can change a life. With just 25 dollars a month, an impoverished woman can start a business and a disadvantaged child can go to school. Currently YGB, has helped 103 mothers and children with micro credit and educational funds in India. And this has been made possible by people around the world who are practicing yoga. How wonderful is it that by doing something which is so good for yourself, you are also doing something good for someone else. That is a true holistic approach and we at Dia support this enormously.

This extraordinary global campaign has representatives in the major U.S. cities, as well as in the UK, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Brazil, Canada, and Sweden.

If you are a yoga teacher then we invite you to sign up for the event “Thank you Mother India” which will be held across the globe between September 2014 and January 2015. Invite as many people as your studio can accommodate and help to empower women in India to build sustainable livelihoods.

As a yoga studio you also have the option to become an official YGB participating studio. We ask you to do monthly donation classes from which all funds will go to YGB. In return you will be listed on the website as a participating studio and you have the opportunity together with all your students, to help women and children in India on a regular base.

If you want to join as a student then check the website for participating studios.

Six billion dollars is spent on yoga in the U.S. alone each year. If a fraction of this can be redirected to help the poor in India, we can make a difference. Join YGB and help make a difference.

About the author

Sharda was born and raised in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Descended from an Indian mother and Dutch father, she received a multi-cultural upbringing during which she gained a broad perspective on life.… Read full bio